System and method for managing mobile communications

ABSTRACT

A device to automatically provide differing information levels according to a predetermined social hierarchy includes a memory and a processor. The memory stores social templates corresponding to unique social signatures and being selectable to provide, for each level of the predetermined social hierarchy, a corresponding differing amount of information to each member of the predetermined social hierarchy and/or a social networking service. The processor receives sensor data from a sensor set which detects sensor data related to an environment of a communication device, creates a detected social signature from the received sensor data, determines which of the social signatures of the social templates has the greatest correspondence with the created social signature, retrieves from the memory the determined one social template having the greatest correspondence, and provides only as much information as allowed in the retrieved social template.

BACKGROUND

1. Field

Aspects of the invention relate to automatically determining if anincoming communication is interruptive, and more particularly to theclassification of a person's current actions such that selected callerscan automatically or manually gauge the intrusiveness of a communicationrequest.

2. Description of the Related Art

The development of pervasive communication technologies has delivereddirect access to mobile device users worldwide. While access has givenusers the convenience of communication at all times this convenience inmany cases is a burden as callers can inadvertently interrupt otheractivities which socially take precedence. One exemplary example is aphone ringing in the middle of a conversation—socially a person wouldnever interrupt another conversation unless the matter was extremelyurgent. The fact that communication requests cannot be sociallyintegrated has made the pervasiveness of communication a burden and haslead to ignoring of calls (urgent or not) as well as allowing remotecommunications to take precedence over local communications.

SUMMARY

According to an aspect of the invention, a device to automaticallyprovide differing levels of information according to a predeterminedsocial hierarchy includes a memory which stores social templates, eachsocial template corresponding to a unique social signature and beingselectable to provide, for each level of the predetermined socialhierarchy, a corresponding differing amount of information to eachmember of the predetermined social hierarchy; and a processor whichreceives sensor data received from a sensor set which detects sensordata related to an environment of a communication device, creates adetected social signature from the received sensor data, determineswhich of the social signatures of the social templates has the greatestcorrespondence with the created social signature, retrieves from thememory the determined one social template having the greatestcorrespondence, and provides to at least one member of the predeterminedsocial hierarchy only as much information as allowed under the socialhierarchy as defined in the retrieved social template.

According to an aspect of the invention, the sensor data comprises alocation of the communication device; a movement of the communicationdevice; and user social statistics indicating an interaction between thecommunication device and the environment of the communication device,and the processor compares the location with map data to determine a maplocation of the communication device, and creates the detected socialsignature to include information on the map location of thecommunication device, the movement being experienced by thecommunication device, and the environment of the communication device.

According to an aspect of the invention, the levels of the socialhierarchy of the retrieved social template include a first socialhierarchy level which provides one level of information as selected inthe retrieved social template, a second social hierarchy level whichprovides another of level information as selected in the retrievedsocial template, and a third social hierarchy level which providesfurther information as selected in the retrieved social template; andthe processor determines a level value of each member by comparing themember with members assigned to having the first social hierarchy level,the second social hierarchy level, and the third social hierarchy level,and provides only as much information as allowed by the determinedsocial hierarchy level.

According to an aspect of the invention, the user social statisticsincludes an amount of light of the environment of the communicationdevice, a sound level of the environment of the communication device, adetected heart rate of a user of the communication device, ultrasoundlevels of the communication device, infrared levels of the communicationdevice, temperature levels of the communication device, localnetwork/data logging of the communication device, capacitive readings ofa touch screen of the communication device, a biometric based upon auser's use of the communication device, data related to thecommunications by and programs running on the communication device,pressure data of the communication device, magnetic field data of thecommunication device, proximity data of the communication devices, orcombinations thereof.

According to an aspect of the invention, the processor further detectsan error between the detected social signature and the social signatureof the determined one social template having the greatestcorrespondence, updates the social signature of the determined onesocial template to include the detected error such that the socialsignature of the determined one social template incorporates thedetected social signature where it is determined that the determined onesocial template is accurate, and creates a new social template using thedetected social signature where it is determined that the determined onesocial template is not accurate.

According to an aspect of the invention, the processor automaticallydetermines if an incoming communication from a communication requestoris interruptive by, prior to completing the communication, assigning thecommunication requestor to one of the levels of the social hierarchy,and providing to the communication requestor only as much information asallowed under the social hierarchy as defined in the retrieved socialtemplate.

According to an aspect of the invention, for at least one of the socialtemplates, each level of the social hierarchy corresponds to acorresponding different social networking service, and the processorautomatically provides different updates to each of the socialnetworking services as allowed under the social hierarchy as defined inthe one social template.

According to an aspect of the invention, one of the social networkingservices is for professional networking, one of the social networkingservices is for non-professional networking, and one of the socialnetworking services is a microblogging service.

According to an aspect of the invention, for at least one of the socialtemplates, there is a single level of social hierarchy for a socialnetworking service, and the processor automatically provides an updateto the social networking services.

According to an aspect of the invention, for at least one of the socialtemplates, there is a single level of social hierarchy for amicroblogging service, and the processor automatically provides anupdate to the microblogging service.

According to an aspect of the invention, at least one of the socialtemplates corresponds to an emergency update, and when the processordetects an emergency situation from the sensor data, the processorautomatically provides information related to the emergency topredetermined emergency services, friends and/or family membersaccording to the detected emergency situation.

According to an aspect of the invention, the processor processes thereceived sensor data to obtain biometric data of a user of thecommunication device, creates the detected social signature from thereceived sensor data and the obtained biometric data, identifies theuser according to the obtained biometric data, and retrieves from thememory the determined one social template having the greatestcorrespondence to the detected social signature for the identified user.

According to an aspect of the invention, one of the sensors comprises aninput device which the user uses to input data, and the processoridentifies the user according to a writing pattern of the user whileinputting the data.

According to an aspect of the invention, one of the sensors comprises anoptical sensor, and the processor identifies the user according to apattern recognition unique to the user.

According to an aspect of the invention, one of the sensors comprises anaudio sensor, and the processor identifies the user according to aspeech pattern recognition unique to the user.

According to an aspect of the invention, one of the sensors comprises anUltra Wideband sensor which provides ranging data regarding theenvironment, and the processor includes in the social signature a sizeof the location in which the communication device is found.

According to an aspect of the invention, a communication device toautomatically provide differing levels of information according to apredetermined social hierarchy includes a sensor set which detectssensor data related to an environment of the communication device; amemory which stores social templates, each social template correspondingto a unique social signature and being selectable to provide, for eachlevel of the predetermined social hierarchy, a corresponding differingamount of information to each member of the predetermined socialhierarchy; a processor which receives the sensor data received from thesensor set, creates a detected social signature from the received sensordata, determines which of the social signatures of the social templateshas the greatest correspondence with the created social signature,retrieves from the memory the determined one social template having thegreatest correspondence, and provides to at least one member of thepredetermined social hierarchy only as much information as allowed underthe social hierarchy as defined in the retrieved social template; atransceiver which provides communication with respect to externaldevices, and sends the information as defined in the retrieved socialtemplate under the control of the processor; and a housing which housesthe sensor set, the processor, the memory, and the transceiver.

According to an aspect of the invention, the sensor set comprises: alocation sensor which senses a location of the communication device; anacceleration sensor which senses movement of the communication device;and a user social statistics sensor which senses an interaction betweenthe communication device and the environment of the communicationdevice, and the processor compares the location with map data todetermine a map location of the communication device, and creates thedetected social signature to include information on the map location ofthe communication device, the acceleration being experienced by thecommunication device, and the environment of the communication device.

According to an aspect of the invention, the device comprises a mobiledevice.

According to an aspect of the invention, the levels of the socialhierarchy of the retrieved social template include a first socialhierarchy level which provides one level of information, a second socialhierarchy level which provides another level of information, and a thirdsocial hierarchy level which provides a different level of information;and the processor determines a level value of each member by comparingthe member with members assigned to having the first social hierarchylevel, the second social hierarchy level, and the third social hierarchylevel, and provides only as much information as allowed by thedetermined social hierarchy level.

According to an aspect of the invention, the first social hierarchylevel provides information including a desired contact state, the maplocation and the environment, the second social hierarchy level providesinformation including the desired contact state and the environment butnot the map location, and the third social hierarchy level providesinformation on only the desired contact state.

According to an aspect of the invention, the sensor set furthercomprises an optical sensor which detects an amount of light of theenvironment of the communication device, and an acoustic sensor whichdetects a sound level and/or characteristics of the environment of thecommunication device.

According to an aspect of the invention, the processor further detectsan error between the detected social signature and the social signatureof the determined one social template having the greatestcorrespondence, updates the social signature of the determined onesocial template to include the detected error such that the socialsignature of the determined one social template incorporates thedetected social signature where it is determined that the determined onesocial template is accurate, and creates a new social template using thedetected social signature where it is determined that the determined onesocial template is not accurate.

According to an aspect of the invention, the processor automaticallydetermines if an incoming communication from a communication requestorbeing received through the transceiver is interruptive by, prior tocompleting the communication, assigning the communication requestor toone of the levels of the social hierarchy, and providing to thecommunication requestor only as much information as allowed under thesocial hierarchy as defined in the retrieved social template.

According to an aspect of the invention, for at least one of the socialtemplates, each level of the social hierarchy corresponds to acorresponding different social networking service, and the processorautomatically provides different updates to each of the socialnetworking services as allowed under the social hierarchy as defined inthe one social template.

According to an aspect of the invention, one of the social networkingservices is for professional networking, one of the social networkingservices is for non-professional networking, and one of the socialnetworking services is a microblogging service.

According to an aspect of the invention, for at least one of the socialtemplates, there is a single level of social hierarchy for a socialnetworking service, and the processor automatically provides an updateto the social networking services.

According to an aspect of the invention, for at least one of the socialtemplates, there is a single level of social hierarchy for amicroblogging service, and the processor automatically provides anupdate to the microblogging service.

According to an aspect of the invention, at least one of the socialtemplates corresponds to an emergency update, and when the processordetects an emergency situation from the sensor data, the processorautomatically provides information related to the emergency topredetermined emergency services, friends and/or family membersaccording to the detected emergency situation.

According to an aspect of the invention, the processor processes thereceived sensor data to obtain biometric data of a user of thecommunication device, creates the detected social signature from thereceived sensor data and the obtained biometric data, identifies theuser according to the obtained biometric data, and retrieves from thememory the determined one social template having the greatestcorrespondence to the detected social signature for the identified user.

According to an aspect of the invention, the sensor set comprises aninput device which the user uses to input data, and the processoridentifies the user according to a writing pattern of the user whileinputting the data.

According to an aspect of the invention, one of the sensors comprises anoptical sensor, and the processor identifies the user according to apattern recognition unique to the user.

According to an aspect of the invention, one of the sensors comprises anaudio sensor, and the processor identifies the user according to aspeech pattern recognition unique to the user.

According to an aspect of the invention, one of the sensors comprises aninput device which the user uses to input data, and the processordetects a status of the communication device according to use or non-useof the input device.

According to an aspect of the invention, the input device comprises atouch screen display including a capacitive sensor, and the processordetects a status of the communication device according to changes in acapacitance detected by the capacitive sensor.

According to an aspect of the invention, one of the sensors comprises anUltra Wideband sensor which provides ranging data regarding theenvironment, and the processor includes in the social signature a sizeof the location in which the communication device is found.

According to an aspect of the invention, a server in communication witha communication device via a network and which automatically providesdiffering levels of information according to a predetermined socialhierarchy includes a memory which stores social templates, each socialtemplate corresponding to a unique social signature and being selectableto provide, for each level of the predetermined social hierarchy, acorresponding differing amount of information to each member of thepredetermined social hierarchy; a processor which receives from thecommunication device sensor data received from a sensor set of thecommunication device which detects sensor data related to an environmentof the communication device, creates a detected social signature fromthe received sensor data, determines which of the social signatures ofthe social templates has the greatest correspondence with the createdsocial signature, retrieves from the memory the determined one socialtemplate having the greatest correspondence, and provides to at leastone member of the predetermined social hierarchy only as muchinformation as allowed under the social hierarchy as defined in theretrieved social template; and a transceiver which receives the sensordata from the sensor set in the communication device, and provides underthe control of the processor to at least one of the members of thepredetermined social hierarchy only as much information as allowed underthe social hierarchy as defined in the retrieved social template.

According to an aspect of the invention, the sensor data comprises alocation of the communication device, movement of the communicationdevice, and an interaction between the communication device and theenvironment of the communication device, and the processor compares thelocation with map data to determine a map location of the communicationdevice, and creates the detected social signature to include informationon the map location of the communication device, the movement beingexperienced by the communication device, and the environment of thecommunication device.

According to an aspect of the invention, the levels of the socialhierarchy of the retrieved social template include: a first socialhierarchy level which provides information including a desired contactstate, the map location and the environment, a second social hierarchylevel which provides information including the desired contact state andthe environment but not the map location, and a third social hierarchylevel which provides information on only the desired contact state; andthe processor determines a level value of each member by comparing themember with members assigned to having the first social hierarchy level,the second social hierarchy level, and the third social hierarchy level,and provides only as much information as allowed by the determinedsocial hierarchy level.

According to an aspect of the invention, the sensor data comprisesoptical information from an optical sensor which detects an amount oflight of the environment of the communication device, and acousticinformation from an acoustic sensor which detects a sound level of theenvironment of the communication device.

According to an aspect of the invention, the processor further detectsan error between the detected social signature and the social signatureof the determined one social template having the greatestcorrespondence, updates the social signature of the determined onesocial template to include the detected error such that the socialsignature of the determined one social template incorporates thedetected social signature where it is determined that the determined onesocial template is accurate, and creates a new social template using thedetected social signature where it is determined that the determined onesocial template is not accurate.

According to an aspect of the invention, the processor automaticallydetermines if an incoming communication from a communication requestorbeing received through the transceiver is interruptive by, prior tocompleting the communication, assigning the communication requestor toone of the levels of the social hierarchy, and providing to thecommunication requestor only as much information as allowed under thesocial hierarchy as defined in the retrieved social template.

According to an aspect of the invention, for at least one of the socialtemplates, each level of the social hierarchy corresponds to acorresponding different social networking service, and the processorautomatically provides different updates to each of the socialnetworking services as allowed under the social hierarchy as defined inthe one social template.

According to an aspect of the invention, one of the social networkingservices is for professional networking, one of the social networkingservices is for non-professional networking, and one of the socialnetworking services is a microblogging service.

According to an aspect of the invention, for at least one of the socialtemplates, there is a single level of social hierarchy for a socialnetworking service, and the processor automatically provides an updateto the social networking services.

According to an aspect of the invention, for at least one of the socialtemplates, there is a single level of social hierarchy for amicroblogging service, and the processor automatically provides anupdate to the microblogging service.

According to an aspect of the invention, at least one of the socialtemplates corresponds to an emergency update, and when the processordetects an emergency situation from the sensor data, the processorautomatically provides information related to the emergency topredetermined emergency services, friends and/or family membersaccording to the detected emergency situation.

According to an aspect of the invention, the processor processes thereceived sensor data to obtain biometric data of a user of thecommunication device, creates the detected social signature from thereceived sensor data and the obtained biometric data, identifies theuser according to the obtained biometric data, and retrieves from thememory the determined one social template having the greatestcorrespondence to the detected social signature for the identified user.

According to an aspect of the invention, the sensor set comprises aninput device which the user uses to input data, and the processoridentifies the user according to a writing pattern of the user whileinputting the data.

According to an aspect of the invention, one of the sensors comprises anoptical sensor, and the processor identifies the user according to apattern recognition unique to the user.

According to an aspect of the invention, one of the sensors comprises anaudio sensor, and the processor identifies the user according to aspeech pattern recognition unique to the user.

According to an aspect of the invention, one of the sensors comprises aninput device which the user uses to input data, and the processordetects a status of the communication device according to use or non-useof the input device.

According to an aspect of the invention, the input device comprises atouch screen display including a capacitive sensor, and the processordetects a status of the communication device according to changes in acapacitance detected by the capacitive sensor.

According to an aspect of the invention, one of the sensors comprises anUltra Wideband sensor which provides ranging data regarding theenvironment, and the processor includes in the social signature a sizeof the location in which the communication device is found.

According to an aspect of the invention, a method of automaticallyproviding differing levels of information according to a predeterminedsocial hierarchy includes: constructing a social signature using sensordata sensed by a sensor set in a communication device; determining whichone of a plurality of social templates has a social signature with agreatest correspondence with the constructed social signature, eachsocial template corresponding to a unique social signature and beingselectable to provide, for each level of the predetermined socialhierarchy, a corresponding differing amount of information to eachmember of the predetermined social hierarchy; retrieves from a memorythe determined one social template having the greatest correspondence;and providing to at least one member of the predetermined socialhierarchy only as much information as allowed under the social hierarchyas defined in the retrieved social template.

According to an aspect of the invention, the sensor data comprises alocation of the communication device, a movement of the communicationdevice, and user social statistics indicating an interaction between thecommunication device and the environment of the communication device,and the constructing the social signature comprises comparing thelocation with map data to determine a map location of the communicationdevice, and creating the social signature to include information on themap location of the communication device, the movement being experiencedby the communication device, and the environment of the communicationdevice.

According to an aspect of the invention, the method further includesdetecting an error between the constructed social signature and thesocial signature of the determined one social template having thegreatest correspondence; updating the social signature of the determinedone social template to include the detected error such that the socialsignature of the determined one social template incorporates thedetected social signature where it is determined that the determined onesocial template is accurate; and creating a new social template usingthe detected social signature where it is determined that the determinedone social template is not accurate.

According to an aspect of the invention, the method further includesdetecting an incoming communication from a communication requestor; andprior to completing the communication, assigning the communicationrequestor to one of the levels of the social hierarchy, and providing tothe communication requestor only as much information as allowed underthe social hierarchy as defined in the retrieved social template.

According to an aspect of the invention, the providing comprisesproviding an update to a social networking service as allowed under thesocial hierarchy as defined in the retrieved social template.

According to an aspect of the invention, the providing comprisesproviding a different update to another social networking service asallowed under the social hierarchy as defined in the retrieved socialtemplate.

According to an aspect of the invention, the providing comprisesproviding an update to a microblogging service as allowed under thesocial hierarchy as defined in the retrieved social template.

According to an aspect of the invention, the method further includesdetecting an emergency situation from the sensor data, wherein theproviding comprises automatically providing information related to theemergency to predetermined emergency services, friends and/or familymembers according to the detected emergency situation using one of thesocial templates.

According to an aspect of the invention, the method further includesobtaining biometric data using the sensor data; and identifying a userof the communication device according to the obtained biometric data,wherein the determining comprises determining the one social templatehaving the greatest correspondence for the identified user.

According to an aspect of the invention, a computer readable medium isencoded with processing instructions to implement the method executed byone or more processors.

Additional aspects and/or advantages of the invention will be set forthin part in the description which follows and, in part, will be obviousfrom the description, or may be learned by practice of the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and/or other aspects and advantages of the invention will becomeapparent and more readily appreciated from the following description ofthe embodiments, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings ofwhich:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an electronic device, inaccordance with one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 illustrates a block diagram of a social monitoring system, inaccordance with one embodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 3 illustrates a flow diagram for a method of social monitoringactivity sensors in accordance an embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Reference will now be made in detail to the present embodiments of thepresent invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanyingdrawings, wherein like reference numerals refer to the like elementsthroughout. The embodiments are described below in order to explain thepresent invention by referring to the figures.

Embodiments of the present invention are designed to monitor socialactivity using multiple sensors. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, amobile device 100 monitors location, acceleration, orientation, audioand optical samples using a set of sensors which provides a set ofsocial statistics. In the shown example, the sensor set includes sensors110, 120, 130, 140 included in the mobile device 100. A user's activityis classified based on the set of social statistics obtained from thesensors 110, 120, 130, 140 identification of location, acceleration,orientation, audio and optical samples as well as static and/or dynamicclassification rules. Examples of user activities include driving,napping, in a meeting, showering, etc. While shown as incorporated intothe body of the mobile device 100, it is understood that one or more ofthe sensors 110, 120, 130, 140 can be connectable to the mobile device100 using wired and/or wireless communication, such as where a camera orheadset is connected using a Bluetooth connection.

For instance, a first calculation is made of a user's location and theposition of the mobile device 100 using a GPS statistic associated withthe user's location detected from the location sensor 110, and localmeasurements of accelerometers included in the inertial sensor 120.Location information is obtained by the location based sensor 110. Inthe shown mobile device 100, additional user social statistics sensorsare measured using the optical sensor 130 and the acoustic sensor 140,which collect additional information relevant to an interaction betweenthe environment of the mobile device 100 and the mobile device 100.

While the user social statistics sensors are shown including the sensors110, 120, 130, 140, it is understood that the user social statisticssensors can include other types of sensors in addition to or instead ofone or more of these sensor 110, 120, 130, 140, such as sensors whichdetect heart rate, ultrasound sensors, infrared sensors, temperaturesensors, pressure sensors, magnetic field sensors, proximity sensors,and other environmental sensors which detect a user environment, orcombinations thereof.

While not shown, in other aspects of the invention, the socialstatistics sensors can include local network/data logging which recordsthe network available through the course of a day. Such logging couldinclude detection of Near Field Communication (NFC), Bluetooth, WiFi orother short range communication networks. In this way, a socialsignature might become associated with specific mobile devices andnetworks in particular locations and times in order to help identifythat, when these combinations of networks are detected, a particularsocial template is to be used. For instance, if one of the detectedmobile devices corresponds to logging associated with a particularfriend, one social template might be chosen in preference to anothersocial template which might be more willing to allow communication ifthe user is sensed to be alone.

While not shown, in other aspects of the invention, the socialstatistics sensors can include sensing a touch screen. The touch screenis a capacitive interface, and therefore if there is no capacitivereading, it might indicate that the mobile device 100 is not exposed orbeing held (example, in a backpack or drawer). In contrast, if thecapacitive reading is low, the level might indicate that the mobiledevice 100 is in a pocket or being held. Similarly, at other capacitivereadings, this would be indicative that the user is actively using themobile device 100. The level of the capacitive reading would thereforebe usable in the social signature in aspects of the invention.

In other aspects of the invention, the social statistics can include abiometric based upon a user's use of the mobile device 100. Thebiometric could be used to identify the user, and thus verify which useris using the mobile device 100. Such biometrics could be obtained fromspecific sensors, or through combinations of sensors used for otherpurposes and whose output is further processed. By way of example, thebiometric could be based upon an analysis of patterns obtained throughthe optical sensor 130 and the acoustic sensor 140 as analyzed by theprocessors 135, 145 and/or the calculating logic 150.

An example of a biometric is based upon patterns specific to a user'sinputting of data. For instance, for a touch screen or a keyboard,people tend to have the same rate of time between certain actions andtend to make the same input errors again and again. Time is the keydistinguishing element in this biometric. For instance, when inputting,three different letters (example JIM), the user will type certain wordswith a proportional time between each key stroke (i.e., J<21 ms>I<55ms>M). While the time may vary, the fact that the time between J and Iwill be roughly half that of the time between I and M will be generallyconstant for that user. In contrast, a different user will havedifferent timings between each letter pair. However, it is understoodthat other biometrics could be used, such as user name and passwords,retina and/or fingerprint recognition, facial and motion recognitiontechniques, voice, hand geometry, and other mechanism by which aparticular user is identified based upon that user's characteristics.Such biometrics could be detected using combinations of the sensors 110,120. 130, 140, or through use of additional sensors. The use of abiometric can be useful in confirming who you are communicating with asthe mobile device 100 can be used by multiple users, and therefore wouldbe usable in the social signature in aspects of the invention.

It is noted that usage of the mobile device 100 can also be used in thesocial statistic as a form of sensor data. In these instances, the usagecould be detected by an element being used acting as a sensor (e.g., thecalculating logic 150 performing an operation, a transceiver 170performing a communication operation, and/or an input device receivinginformation), and the resulting usage data being included in the sensordata to create a social signature.

For instance, the usage data can be communications by and programsrunning on the mobile device 100 and would be sensed by the calculatinglogic 150, whereby the calculating logic 150 would be a type of sensorfor purposes of forming a social signature. As another example, wherethe mobile device 100 is linked to a Bluetooth headset, thiscommunication status could be detected by a transceiver 170 and/or thecalculating logic 150 as a form of sensor data, and the sensor datacould be used in the social statistic. Similarly, where the user isrunning an email program, a game program, or a media program, this usagedata could be detected by the calculating logic 150 as a sensor and theusage data included in the sensor data could be used in the socialstatistic. Moreover, where a transaction is being processed (such as thepurchase of an item) or the user is using an input device (such as a keyboard, touch screen display, joystick, clickwheel), this usage data maybe detected by the calculating logic 150 and/or input device as a sensorand indicate that the user is available for certain types of calls.Thus, the operations of the mobile device 100 itself could furnishinformation as part of the social statistics.

A second calculation is made of the user social statistic based on thestatic and/or dynamic rule set. The final use of the user's socialclassification statistic is calculated based on the first calculation,the second calculation, and a preset reporting level which offers aspecific hierarchical level of social classification based on thecaller.

The mobile device 100 may be a cellular phone, wrist watch, mp3 player,portable media player, personal digital assistant (PDA), mobile gameconsole, laptop computer, or any other device which can support an setof sensors and be carried by a user. In the shown embodiment, the mobiledevice 100 is a portable electronic device that includes one or moreinertial sensors 120, one or more location based sensors 110, one ormore audio sensors 140 and one or more optical sensors 130.

The inertial sensor 120 may measure accelerations along a single axis ormultiple axes, and may measure linear as well as rotational (angular)accelerations. In one embodiment, one or more inertial sensors 120together provide three dimensional acceleration measurement data so asto indicate the instantaneous motion of the mobile device 100, and hencegiven an indication as to the motion of the user of the mobile device100. The inertial sensor 120 may generate acceleration measurement datacontinuously, or at a sampling rate that may be fixed or variable. Inone embodiment, the inertial sensor 120 receives a timing signal from atimer (not shown) to take measurements at the sampling rate. Theinertial sensor 120 provides the acceleration measurement data and/ormovement data to a motion processor 125.

However, it is understood that the functionality of the inertial sensor120 can be estimated, such as where the overall motion or movement isdetected using differences in location sensed by the location sensor110. Conversely, where the location is not known due to a lack of asignal to the location sensor 110 or where the location sensor 110 isnot included, the inertial sensor 120 can be used to estimate thelocation of the mobile device 100 relative to a known starting point.The known starting point can be set by the user, or sensed from acommunication from known access points and networks having a knownlocation.

The acoustic sensor 140 may generate acoustic measurement datacontinuously, or at a sampling rate that may be fixed or variable. Inone embodiment, multiple acoustic sensors are used to filter noise fromrelevant acoustic signals and preprocessing of the acoustic signal usingsignal processing techniques can be used to simplify classificationcalculations. Examples of the acoustic sensor 140 include a microphoneor like mechanism which detects acoustics and sounds. The acousticsensor 140 provides the detected acoustics and sound to an acousticprocessor 145.

The optical sensor 130 may generate simple light level measurement datacontinuously, or at a sampling rate that may be fixed or variable. Theoptical sensor 130 provides the light level measurement to an opticalprocessor 135. While not required in all aspects, the optical sensor 130can be a camera (still or video) as used in mobile phones.

In one embodiment, the optical sensor 130 includes charged couplingdevice (CCD) sensors, whereby image data is sampled by the CCD sensorsand is used to better classify the social situation and preprocessing ofthe optical signal using signal processing techniques can be used tosimply classification calculations. For instance, if the CCD sensorsdetect a low level of light, the mobile device 100 can determine thatthe mobile device 100 is in a dark location (such as in a pocket, in aroom with the lights off, or outside during the night). Whereas if theCCD sensors detect the high level of light, this could indicate that themobile device 100 is in use or is merely exposed in a room with thelights on or is outside during the daytime. While described in terms ofthe visible light, the optical sensor 330 could also be a type of camerawhich detects non-visible light spectra, such as infrared or ultravioletdetectors, or other radiation and energy detectors.

The location based sensor 110 can include a single location basedsensor, or multiple location based sensors. Where there are multiplelocation based sensors, the sensors can be of the same type to provideredundancy, or of multiple different types of location based sensors toprovide location information in case one type of signal is not working.The location based sensor 110 provides the location information to alocation processor 115.

In one embodiment, the location based sensor 110 includes a globalpositioning system (GPS) sensor comprising a GPS antenna and a GPSreceiver. The GPS sensor obtains location information from one or moreGPS satellites, which are received at the GPS antenna and processedusing the GPS receiver.

In one embodiment, the location based sensor 110 includes a networklocalization sensor. A network localization sensor determines a positionby receiving signals from multiple sources that have known locations,and calculating the position based on the combined signals usingtrigonometric relations. The signals used to determine location may beradio frequency (RF) signals formatted according to the Bluetoothprotocol, Zigbee protocol, wireless fidelity (WiFi) protocol, globalsystem for mobile communications (GSM) protocol, 3G mobilecommunications protocol, etc. For example, a first network localizationsensor may perform network triangulation using signals received from amobile phone service provider's cell towers. In another example, asecond network localization sensor may perform triangulation usingwireless fidelity (WiFi) signals received from multiple nearby WiFiaccess points (e.g., hotspots).

In one embodiment, the location based sensor 110 includes a radiofrequency identification (RFID) reader that reads transponders (e.g.,passive integrated transponders (PITs)). Each transponder may report aspecific location. When, for example, a transponder that reportslocation A is read, the location based sensor knows to a high degree ofcertainty that the electronic device is at location A.

Alternatively, the location based sensor 110 may itself include a PITthat is read by an RFID reader at a known location. Upon the PIT beingread by a particular RFID reader having a known location, the locationbased sensor may learn its current location.

As noted above, the location based sensor 110 can comprise a system ofmultiple location based sensors which may be used separately ortogether. When used separately, each location based sensor mayindependently determine a location of the electronic device, and reportthe location to the location processor 115. When used together, thecapabilities of one location based sensor 110 can be used to augment thecapabilities of another location based sensor. Examples of suchcooperative use of location based sensors include assisted GPS andenhanced GPS, in which location data reported by a network localizationsensor is used to augment a GPS sensor and to reduce the time andprocessing effort needed to quickly identify a location. A singlelocation may then be reported to the location processor 115.

The location based sensor 110 may generate location informationcontinuously, or at a sampling rate that may be fixed or variable. Inone embodiment, the location based sensor 110 receives a timing signalfrom a timer (not shown) to take measurements at the sampling rate. Thelocation based sensor 110 may obtain location measurements at a samplingrate that is the same as or different from the sampling rate at whichthe inertial sensor 120 collects acceleration measurement data. In thismanner, the mobile device 100 can collect instantaneous accelerationsfrom the acceleration measurement data measured by the inertial sensor120, as well as long term accelerations using the differences in thelocation measurements measured by the location based sensor 110.

The location based sensor 110 (or location based sensors) can report aposition of the electronic device 100 as a latitude and longitude, andmay report a horizontal accuracy. In one embodiment, the horizontalaccuracy of the location is reported as a confidence radius. Forexample, a location may be reported with a horizontal accuracy of 3 m,meaning that the reported location is accurate within a circle having a3 m radius. Accuracy of the location may vary from about 1 m to about100 m for location data obtained by a GPS sensor, depending on userlocation (e.g., in a city, under open sky, under a tree, in a building,etc.). The location information may further include an altitude, and mayinclude a vertical accuracy. The location information may also include atime that the location was recorded.

In one embodiment, the inertial sensor 120 is coupled to the motionprocessor 125. The motion processor 125 processes accelerationmeasurement data received from the inertial sensor 120 to provide dataused to provide a social signature of the user and/or as a biometric.For instance, specific patterns of acceleration might indicate specificactivities (sleeping versus running versus walking), and the rhythm ofsuch movement could also indicate the user to the extent the user'saccelerations provide a unique pattern.

In a one embodiment, the location sensor 110 is coupled to a mappingprocessor included in the location processor 115. The mapping processorprocesses location measurement data received from the location sensor110 to provide data used to identify a social classification of a personto whom communication is desired. For instance, in an aspect of theinvention, the mapping processor can compare the sensed location withknown locations in the user's address book or contact list to determinethe location (i.e., at home, at a dentist office, at work).Additionally, in other aspects, the mapping processor can compare thesensed location with a map stored in the mobile device 100 or retrievedfrom a query to an internet service such as MapQuest or Google maps, anddetermine the location as being a restaurant, store, office or otherlike location according to such publicly available information.

In other aspects of the invention, the social statistics sensors caninclude an Ultra Wideband sensor which can provide ranging data, such asoccurs with radar. In this manner, the ranging data could provide a 3Dimage of the room in which the mobile device 100 is located, and/orprovide simple room size and obstacle location measurements. The use ofthe ranging data would be usable in the social signature in aspects ofthe invention. By way of example, the ranging data could be usable inthe social signature when combined with the map location detected fromthe mapping processor the location on a map, thereby allowing a socialtemplate to be constructed to provide information based both upon maplocation and a location relative to walls of a specific room in thatlocation.

In one embodiment, the acoustic sensor 140 is coupled to an acousticsignal processor included in the acoustic processor 145. The acousticsignal processor processes acoustic samples of data received from theacoustic sensor 140 to provide data used to identify a socialclassification of a person to whom communication is desired.

In one embodiment, the optical sensor 130 is coupled to an opticalsignal processor included in the optical processor 135. The opticalsignal processor processes optical samples of data received from theoptical sensor 130 to provide data used to identify a socialclassification of a person to whom communication is desired.

In one embodiment, a combination of any inertial sensor 120 coupled tothe motion processor, the location sensor 110 coupled to the mappingprocessor, the acoustic sensor 140 coupled to the acoustic signalprocessor and/or the optical sensor 130 coupled to the optical signalprocessor is used to provide data used to identify a socialclassification of a person to whom communication is desired.

In one embodiment, a combination of any inertial sensor data, locationsensor data, acoustic sensor data and/or an optical sensor data isformatted for processing at a location other than the mobile device 110and subsequently used to identify a social classification of a person towhom communication is desired. In this manner, the mobile device 110needs to devote less processing time and energy to perform such socialclassification and relies upon an outside computational device toprovide such functionality.

In the shown embodiment, the social classification is performed in themobile device 100. Specifically, a calculating logic 150 receives theprocessed data from the location processor 115, the motion processor125, the optical processor 135, and the acoustic processor 145, andcompares the processed data with social templates 165 stored in a memory160 included in the mobile device 100. The memory 160 can be removableor permanently installed in the mobile device 100. The calculating logic150 provides the result of the comparison to a requesting caller using atransceiver 170 via a network according to a hierarchical socialclassification. While shown as included in the device 100, it isunderstood that the transceiver 170 can be removable from the device100.

Examples of hierarchical social classification that can be identifiedinclude high level available, busy, do not disturb. Under each of thesebroad classifications can be more actuate classifications which arepotentially available to a more select social group. Under thehierarchical tree, do not disturb can be classifications such as at thedentist, sleeping or with a customer. While a user may chose to stilladvance the call they will do so being able to socially weigh theurgency of the communication with the social classification of theperson being contacted. Each set of hierarchical social classificationsis stored in a separate social template.

The calculating logic 150 can further use the data from the processors115, 125, 135, 145 to classify a current user's activity from aplurality of predefined identifiable user activities as well as traineduser activities. In one embodiment, the calculating logic 150 identifiesa user's social activity by monitoring for different social signatures,and applies a corresponding social template to determine how to treat anincoming communication request.

In one embodiment, when enough events indicative of a particular usersocial activity are detected, the calculating logic 150 identifies theactivity as being performed by the user. In one embodiment, events mayinclude positive events (ones that must be met to classify a socialstate in a certain way) and negative events (ones that indicate that asocial state cannot be classified certain way). For instance, where auser is classified as entering a coffee shop at 7:32 am which is hisnormal routine, the classification can be made that he is on his way towork and has a 97% probability of arriving on time at 8:02 am accordingto the corresponding social template. However, in this instance, heorders two coffees and arrives at work at 8:20. This deviation is anegative event from the classification of the coffee ordering time tothe arrival at work, and a positive event from the classification of thenumber of coffees ordered as well as time to the user's arrival time atwork.

Once the system has identified a user activity, the system may apply aset of motion criteria specific to the identified social state toestimate one or more user social statistics (e.g., to detectintrusiveness of a communication request). Social state criteria mayinclude thresholds, comparison requirements, action windows, etc. Forinstance, in relation to the coffee shop example above, the comparisonmay be looking at the purchase amount, audio input and physical locationin comparison to typical actions to say socially that the user is havinga tall, soy latte with a friend at the coffee shop. This may however notbe what is reported to everyone depending on the social template. Thus,the social template may allow specific friends to know that he isdrinking coffee at the coffee shop, may allow his co-workers to knowthat he is in a personal meeting, and only allow the rest of the worldto know that he is busy and should not be disturbed. These would beexamples of social network grouping where a single event would bereported in multiple ways based on where the requestor fit in thisuser's social network. So certain social states may cross a threshold ofwhat should be reported to which groups, a comparison of data previouslyshared versus currently available to be shared may be used, and specificaction windows can be used to allow the user to share data after theevent so that nothing is provided without knowledge and this becomes thebasis of further training.

Each social signature is indicative of a different type of activity.Events occur when certain motion, location, acoustic and opticalcriteria are satisfied. For instance, when a location signature hasmoved to a known room in a house such as a home nursery, the motionsignature is static, the optical information indicates a dim room andthe acoustic information indicates rhythmic breathing, the socialsignature is that of the mobile phone user and baby napping. From theidentified social signature, the calculating logic 150 selects thesocial template to select how much information is provided to a categoryof communicant hoping to access the mobile phone user. The socialtemplate would then be programmed to reduce the information to betransmitted based upon user-defined relationships and levels of access.

For instance, where the social signature is that of the mobile phoneuser and baby napping, the social template is fordo-not-disturb-due-to-Mother-and-baby-sleeping as set forth in Tables 1and 2.

TABLE 1 do-not-disturb-due-to-Mother-and-baby-sleeping social signatureSensor Value range Location 39.78° N, 104.88° W ±5 m Inertial 0 m/s² ±.2 m/s² Optical 223 lm ± 15 lm Acoustic −63 db ± 5 db

TABLE 2 do-not-disturb-due-to-Mother-and-baby-sleeping social hierarchySocial Hierarchy Information First Social Hierarchy Provide informationLevel-Father on location, duration of state, and estimate of baby sleeptime Second Social Hierarchy Provide information Level-Friend on babysleeping Third Social Hierarchy Do not disturb Level-School, Work exceptin emergency Fourth Social Hierarchy Do not disturb Level-Strangers

In this example, assuming that the location sensor 110 senses thelocation is at 39.78° N, 104.88° W, the inertial sensor 120 senses noacceleration, the optical sensor 130 senses a light value of 223 lm, andthe acoustic sensor 140 senses a sound level of −63 db, the calculatinglogic 150 compares the detected social signature with the socialsignature of the social templates 165 included in the memory 160, andselects the social template fordo-not-disturb-due-to-Mother-and-baby-sleeping as being the closestmatch to the detected social signature. The selected social signature isthen applied against requests for communication either using thecalculating logic 150 within the mobile device, or on a server throughwhich such communication must be routed.

Assuming the communication is from the Father, the social template isprogrammed to give the Father the First Social Hierarchy Level, andallow the Father to know that the mobile device 100 of the Mother iswith the baby, the location, for how long, and who is napping (bothMother and Baby or Baby only). In this way, the social template providesa high level of information to the Father so that the Father can make aninformed choice about whether to place the call, or to instead send anemail or text.

Assuming the communication is from the neighbor, the social signature isprogrammed to give the neighbor a Second Social Hierarchy Level and lessinformation is to be provided. In this case, the social template onlyindicates that the Baby is sleeping, so that the neighbor or friend canmake an informed choice about whether to place the call, or to insteadsend an email or text, but without being given as much detail as to thelocation and duration of the social signature.

Assuming the communication is from the office, the social signature isprogrammed to give the office the Third Social Hierarchy Level and evenless information is to be provided but with specific information aboutwhen the call would be welcomed. In this case, the social template onlyindicates that the mobile phone user does not want to be disturbed,except in an emergency. Thus, when an emergency call is to be made fromthe school or office, the caller will know that the mobile phone user isavailable and welcomes such calls. Alternately, where there is noemergency, the caller can make an informed choice about whether to placethe call, or to instead send an email or text, but without being givenany detail beyond being told to only call in limited circumstance. Thus,an employee would know that the employer would not welcome a routinecall, but would be available should an emergency arise.

Assuming the communication is from the stranger, the social signature isprogrammed to give the stranger the Fourth Social Hierarchy Level andindicate only that the caller is not to be disturbed. While not requiredin all aspects, the social template could direct any such calls straightinto a voice mail to block reception entirely.

However, it is understood that the social hierarchy level could bechanged for each social template. For instance, assuming that the Motheris accorded the First Social Hierarchy Level in most social templates,there may be times when the Father does not want the locationinformation to be provided. For instance, assuming the Father ispurchasing a gift, the social template could be created to not providethe location information to the Mother (either specifically or to allFirst Social Hierarchy Level members) in certain locations, and thuscreate exceptions to the level of information provided in the same orother social templates. Thus, while categories of social hierarchylevels can be established, exceptions can be programmed according to theneeds of the end user.

As such, each social template can be set up with varying levels ofgranularity in so far as who is given which information about the userof the mobile device 100 prior to the call being placed. However, inorder to ensure that the social template is accurate, the mobile device100 includes a social training program 167 stored within the memory 160.Using the social training program 167, the user can save particular setsof social signature as new social templates, or increase the accuracy ofan existing social template using the social signature. While describedin terms of four social hierarchy levels, it is understood thatadditional or fewer levels can be provided, depending on the socialtemplate or through user training as will be described below.

Using the above example in relation to the Mother and the Baby, in orderto set up the social template in the first instance, the Mother wouldactivate the social training program 167 while in the nursery with theBaby, and the social signature would be associated with that particularsocial template. Specifically, the data sensed by the location sensor110, the inertial sensor 120, the optical sensor 130, and the acousticsensor 140 would be correlated with the new social template, and theMother would then enter the degrees of information to be provided tovarious categories of potential callers (i.e., Father, Friend, Neighbor,Office, School, Stranger etc.). Subsequently, should a caller be giventhe wrong amounts of information, the Mother could again activate thesocial training program 167 to improve the social signatures recognizedby the social template. In this manner, each social template could beassociated with more than one set of social signatures so as to allowfor variations from the original detected social signature and toimprove the functionality of the mobile device 100.

Once the mobile device 100 assigns the social template associated withthe current social signature, the assigned social template is sent to anexternal server within the mobile network of the caller. As such, whenthe caller attempts to contact the mobile device 100, the caller isgiven the information according to the hierarchical socialclassifications prior to contacting the mobile device 100.

Additionally, the mobile device 100 consistently monitors for a changein the social signature, such as where the mobile device 100 changeslocation or detects a change in the optical or acoustic levels. At thispoint, the mobile device 100 will determine whether the social signatureindicates a change in the currently assigned social template, or whetheranother social template is to be assigned. Using the above example,where the social signature indicates that the baby is now awake andcrying, the social template would be changed to allow information on thenew status of the baby, but likely maintain a do-not-disturb socialtemplate.

While described in the context of the mobile device 100 having thesocial templates and social training performed internally, in anotherembodiment of the invention shown in FIG. 2, the social templates andsocial training is performed externally. As shown, a mobile device 200monitors location, acceleration, orientation, audio and optical samplesusing a location sensor and processor 210, a motion sensor and processor220, an optical sensor and processor 230, and an acoustic sensor andprocessor 240 included in the mobile device 200. The location sensor andprocessor 210 performs generally the same function as the locationsensor 110 and location processor 115 of FIG. 1, the motion sensor andprocessor 220 performs generally the same function as the inertialsensor 120 and motion processor 125 of FIG. 1, the optical sensor andprocessor 230 performs generally the same function as the optical sensor130 and optical processor 135 of FIG. 1, and the acoustic sensor andprocessor 240 performs generally the same function as the acousticsensor 140 and acoustic processor 145 of FIG. 1. A calculating logic 250receives the processed data from the location sensor and processor 210,the motion sensor and processor 220, the optical sensor and processor230, and the acoustic sensor and processor 240, and transmits theprocessed data to a server 270 using a transceiver 280 via a network260.

While not required in all aspects, the network 260 can be a wirelesscommunication network such as a CDMA, GSM, or like mobile communicationprotocols.

The processed data received at the server 270 is compared with socialtemplates stored in a memory included in a remote calculating logic 275of the server 270. The remote calculating logic 275 provides the resultof the comparison to a requesting caller via the network 260 accordingto a hierarchical social classification. In this manner, the assignmentand training of the social templates according to social signatures isperformed externally at the server 270 instead of within the mobiledevice 200. The assigned social template is maintained in a server (suchas the server 270) through which the caller must access to reach themobile device 200. As such, when the caller attempts to contact themobile device 200, the caller is given the information according to thehierarchical social classifications prior to contacting the mobiledevice 200.

However, it is understood that, while shown as lacking the capability ofproviding the hierarchical social classification within the mobiledevice 200, the mobile device 200 could also have this capabilitylocally within the mobile device 200 so as to have an internal andexternal capability of selectively providing information according tothe hierarchical social classification incorporated in the socialtemplates.

FIG. 3 illustrates a flow diagram for a method of social monitoringusing sensors in accordance an embodiment of the present invention. Inoperation 300, the sensor data is sampled by the calculating logic 150,250. In the embodiments of FIGS. 1 and 2, calculating logic 150, 250detects the data from the location processor 115, 210, the motionprocessor 125, 220, the optical processor 135, 230, and the acousticprocessor 145, 240. The sampling can be performed at preset intervals,or continuously.

In operation 305, the data samples detected by the calculating logic150, 250 are formatted into social signatures for use in matchingagainst social templates. In operation 310, where the mobile device isnot performing a comparison of the social signatures with socialtemplates, such as in the embodiment shown in FIG. 2, the calculatinglogic 250 sends the formatted data to the server 270 across the network260. However, it is understood that operation 310 need not be performedin all aspects of the invention, such as where the mobile device 100 ofFIG. 1 is being used.

In operation 315, the formatted data is compared to the socialtemplates. In operation 320, the calculating logic 150 or the remotecalculating logic 275 makes an a priori classification assigning one ofthe social templates to the formatted data. This a priori classificationis based upon a closest match between the social signature in theformatted data and the social signature or signatures associated witheach social template.

The calculating logic 150 or the remote calculating logic 275 detects aclassification error in operation 325. Since the social signature in theformatted data and the social signature or signatures associated witheach social template may not exactly match, this difference is aclassification error. Conversely, where there is an exact match, thereis no classification error.

By way of example, assuming the mobile device user is at a movie, thelocation sensor 110 detects the location as that of the movie theatre,and the inertial sensor 120 indicates no movement. Further, the mobiledevice 100 might include a near field communication (NFC) device whichdetects that the mobile device 100 was used to purchase a ticket to amovie, and the movie start time. The mobile device 100 might alsoinclude a clock which detects that the start time has passed, but theoptical sensor 130 determines that the movie theater lights are bright.In contrast, for the social signature of a social template for watchinga movie, the optical sensor could be for a low light, but also includethe movie theater location, no acceleration, time being after the starttime, and the ticket data from the NFC device. In this instance, thesocial signature in the formatted data would include a number ofmatching elements (i.e., location, acceleration, time, and NFC data)which are consistent with the social signature of a social template forwatching a movie, but the error would exist in relation to the opticaldata. Thus, in operation 320, the a priori classification would be thesocial template for watching the movie, and the classification error inoperation 325 would be in relation to the optical data being high asopposed to low.

Where there is a classification error, a training update can beoptionally performed in operation 330. If the training update is to beperformed, the classification error weighting is updated or the socialsignature is matched to a new social template created by the user inoperation 335. According to an aspect of the invention, where there isthe classification error such that the training update is needed, theuser might be prompted to confirm that the a priori classification isaccurate. If the a priori classification is accurate, the classificationerror weights are updated in operation 335 for that particular socialtemplate to ensure that the social signature in the formatted data isrecognized in the future as belonging to the same social template. Incontrast, where the a priori classification is not accurate, a newsocial template can be created. In this manner, the social templates areconstantly refined. The updated classification error weighting and/ortemplate from operation 335 is stored in the memory 160 or in the server270.

Using the above example in relation to the social template for watchinga movie, the same social template for watching a movie could have anupdated error weighting in relation to the relative importance of thelighting, and thus would be associated with more social signatures. Incontrast, the user might create a new social template, such as a socialtemplate for waiting to watch a movie in which the user would allow morecommunication.

While not required in all aspects, such updated error weights and newsocial templates could be generated solely in relation to the user ofthe mobile device 100, 200, or could also be shared from other mobiledevices. In this manner, the social templates could be unique to theuser, or be refined through the collective experience of any number ofother user experiences.

While not required in all aspects, the training and updating inoperations 330, 335 could be performed using Fuzzy Adaptive Resonance,Learning Vector Quantization, or other techniques whereby acomputational device learns from detected errors in order to improvefuture reactions to like sensor inputs.

Where there is no training to be performed (such as where there is noclassification error or where the classification error is de minimus),the calculating logic 150 or the remote calculating logic 275 detectswhether there has been a communication request to the mobile device 100,200 in operation 340. Where there is no communication request, theprocess returns to operation 300 to determine if the social signaturehas changed.

Where there is a communication request, the calculating logic 150 or theremote calculating logic 275 compares the requestor with the accesslevel assigned to the requestor contained in the selected socialtemplate in operation 345. In operation 350, the information levelassigned to the requestor is provided to the requestor prior tocommunication being completed in order for the requestor to determine,based upon the information provided, whether the communication should becompleted or whether the mobile device user would not appreciate thecall. After reporting the information, the process returns to operation300 to determine if the social signature has changed.

While described in the context of voice communications, it is understoodthat the social templates could also be used to prevent other forms ofcommunication, such as text messages, facebook updates, emails, instantmessages, or other like communications which can be distracting to auser of a mobile device. By way of example, the detected socialsignature might correspond to a user driving a car with a Bluetoothheadset. In this case the social template might provide information tothe sender that the user is driving and is not available to read thetext message, but should instead be contacted using a voicecommunication.

Moreover, it is understood that aspects of the invention do not requirea communication request to provide the differing levels of informationsuch that operation 340 is optional. By way of example, in aspects ofthe invention, the social template might be to log in and send or updatespecific information to one or more social networking services and/ormicroblogs. The social template could specify the type of information tobe provided, as well as any necessary log in and username informationneeded to authorize the social networking services and/or microblogs toreceive such updates. While not required in all aspects, a detectedbiometric would be useful in ensuring that the proper account isaccessed.

In this manner, the device 100, 200 could chronicle a user's status, andcould provide different updates to different social networking services.For instance, a user in a coffee shop might want to update their socialnetworking site (such as FACEBOOK) to indicate to users that they are atthe coffee shop. Where the user has more than one social networkingsite, the user might not want this information on a professionnetworking site (such as LINKED-IN). Conversely, where the user is in awork related activity, such as at a conference, the social templatecould be configured to provide the same or different updates on thesocial and professional networking sites. A similar chronicle of theuser's status could be provided on TWITTER or other microblog site. Inthis way, the device 100, 200 would be able to provide constant feedsand updates to automatically enliven a user's social and professionalnetworking site(s) and/or issue microblogs such as tweets according to astatus sensed from the various device sensors 110, 120, 130, 140.

In aspects of the invention, even where a user does not have a socialnetworking service and/or microblog set up, the social template could beconfigured to provide specific information using text, email and/orvoice messaging. By way of example, the social template could bedesignated for emergency situations, and automatically provideinformation to the police, fire department, family and/or friends. Suchcommunication could be through text messages, emails, computer readmessages sent to a voice line, and, where social networking serviceand/or microblog are set up, through networking service and microblogupdates. In this way, the device 100, 200 would be able to summon helpin an emergency situation according to a status sensed from the variousdevice sensors 110, 120, 130, 140.

By way of example, the device sensors 110, 120, 130, 140 could detect asharp audio sound and a sudden deceleration, and the calculating logic150, 275 could detect the social signature as being for a car crash.From the social signature for the car crash, the calculating logic 150,275 would select a social template which provides information on thetime since impact and location of impact to the police and ambulanceservices, as well as providing an alert to family and/or friends.

By way of another example, the device sensors 110, 120, 130, 140 coulddetect heat and an optical/acoustic signature consistent with a fire,and the calculating logic 150, 275 could detect the social signature asbeing for a fire. From the social signature for the fire, thecalculating logic 150, 275 would select a social template which providesinformation on the likelihood of a fire, and location of fire to thepolice and fire department, as well as providing an alert to familyand/or friends.

By way of a further example, the device sensors 110, 120, 130, 140 coulddetect a sudden change in breathing signatures as well as a change in auser's pulse indicative of a heart attack, and the calculating logic150, 275 could detect the social signature as being for a medicalemergency. From the social signature for the medical emergency, thecalculating logic 150, 275 would select a social template which providesinformation on the type of medical emergency, and a location of themedical emergency to emergency services and/or the fire department, aswell as providing an alert to family and/or friends.

While described in terms of a mobile device, it is understood thataspects of the invention need not be limited to a device that can becarried by a user. For instance, the device could be mounted to a movingvehicle and thus not be carried by a user. Further, aspects need not beused in a device which is mobile, such as where the device is in a roomand observes sensor inputs which change as in a security system or othersystem which utilizes sensors.

It will be appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the art that anyconfiguration of the system may be used for various purposes accordingto the particular implementation. The control logic or softwareimplementing the present invention can be stored in main memory, massstorage device, or other storage medium locally or remotely accessibleto processor.

It will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art that thesystem, method, and process described herein can be implemented assoftware stored in main memory or read only memory and executed byprocessor. This control logic or software may also be resident on anarticle of manufacture comprising a computer readable medium havingcomputer readable program code embodied therein and being readable bythe mass storage device and for causing the processor to operate inaccordance with the methods and teachings herein.

The present invention may also be embodied in a handheld or portabledevice containing a subset of the computer hardware components describedabove. For example, the handheld device may be configured to containonly the bus, the processor and memory. The handheld device may also beconfigured to include a set of buttons or input signaling componentswith which a user may select from a set of available options. Thehandheld device may also be configured to include an output apparatussuch as a liquid crystal display (LCD) or display element matrix fordisplaying information to a user of the handheld device. Conventionalmethods may be used to implement such a handheld device. Theimplementation of the present invention for such a device would beapparent to one of ordinary skill in the art given the disclosure of thepresent invention as provided herein.

The present invention may also be embodied in a special purposeappliance including a subset of the computer hardware componentsdescribed above. For example, the appliance may include a processor, adata storage device, a bus, and memory, and only rudimentarycommunications mechanisms, such as a small touch-screen that permits theuser to communicate in a basic manner with the device. In general, themore special-purpose the device is, the fewer of the elements need bepresent for the device to function. In some devices, communications withthe user may be through a touch-based screen, or similar mechanism.

It will be appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the art that anyconfiguration of the system may be used for various purposes accordingto the particular implementation. The control logic or softwareimplementing the present invention can be stored on any machine-readablemedium locally or remotely accessible to processor. A machine-readablemedium includes any mechanism for storing or transmitting information ina form readable by a machine (e.g. a computer). For example, a machinereadable medium includes read-only memory (ROM), random access memory(RAM), magnetic disk storage media, optical storage media, flash memorydevices, electrical, optical, acoustical or other forms of propagatedsignals (e.g. carrier waves, infrared signals, digital signals, etc.).

The detailed description of embodiments of the invention makes referenceto the accompanying drawings in which like references indicate similarelements, showing by way of illustration specific embodiments ofpracticing the invention. Description of these embodiments is insufficient detail to enable those skilled in the art to practice theinvention. One skilled in the art understands that other embodiments maybe utilized and that logical, mechanical, electrical, functional andother changes may be made without departing from the scope of thepresent invention. The following detailed description is, therefore, notto be taken in a limiting sense, and the scope of the present inventionis defined only by the appended claims.

In the foregoing specification, the invention has been described withreference to specific exemplary embodiments thereof. It will, however,be evident that various modifications and changes may be made theretowithout departing from the broader spirit and scope of the invention asset forth in the appended claims. The specification and drawings are,accordingly, to be regarded in an illustrative rather than a restrictivesense.

Although a few embodiments of the present invention have been shown anddescribed, it would be appreciated by those skilled in the art thatchanges may be made in this embodiment without departing from theprinciples and spirit of the invention, the scope of which is defined inthe claims and their equivalents.

1. A system to automatically provide differing levels of informationaccording to a predetermined social hierarchy, the system comprising: acommunication device comprising a sensor set which detects sensor datacomprising a first detected sensor value comprising an amount of lightof the environment of the communication device from an optical sensorand a second detected sensor value comprising a sound level of theenvironment of the communication device from an acoustic sensor, andtransmits the sensor data; a memory which stores social templates, eachsocial template corresponding to a unique social signature comprising afirst sensor value range and a second sensor value range other than thefirst sensor value range and each social template being selectable toprovide, for each level of the predetermined social hierarchy, acorresponding differing amount of information to each member of thepredetermined social hierarchy; and a server comprising a processorwhich receives the sensor data from the communication device, creates adetected social signature from the received sensor data, determineswhich of the social signatures of the stored social templates has agreatest correspondence with the created social signature throughcomparison of the first and second detected sensor values and the firstand second sensor value ranges of each stored social template, retrievesfrom the memory the determined one social template having the greatestcorrespondence and having the detected amount of light within the firstsensor value range and the detected sound level within the second sensorvalue range, and provides to at least one member of the predeterminedsocial hierarchy only as much information as allowed based on theretrieved social template.
 2. The system of claim 1, wherein the sensordata comprises a set of social statistics including a location of thecommunication device, and a movement of the communication device, andthe processor compares the location with map data to determine a maplocation of the communication device, and creates the detected socialsignature to include information on the map location of thecommunication device, and the movement being experienced by thecommunication device.
 3. The system of claim 1, wherein: the levels ofthe social hierarchy of the retrieved social template include: a firstsocial hierarchy level which provides one level of information asselected in the retrieved social template, a second social hierarchylevel which provides another level of information as selected in theretrieved social template, and a third social hierarchy level whichprovides a further level of information as selected in the retrievedsocial template; and the processor detects to which of the first socialhierarchy level, the second social hierarchy level, and the third socialhierarchy level each member belongs, and provides only as muchinformation as allowed by the detected social hierarchy level.
 4. Thesystem of claim 1, wherein the processor automatically determines if anincoming communication from a communication requestor is interruptiveby, prior to completing the communication, assigning the communicationrequestor to one of the levels of the social hierarchy, and providing tothe communication requestor only as much information as allowed based onthe retrieved social template.
 5. The system of claim 1, wherein thesensor set comprises an Ultra Wideband sensor which provides rangingdata regarding the environment, and the processor includes in the socialsignature a size of the location in which the communication device isfound.
 6. The system of claim 1, wherein the server further comprises atransceiver which receives the sensor data sent from the communicationdevice.
 7. The system of claim 1, wherein the sensor data comprisesusage data relating to a use of the communication device.
 8. Acommunication system to automatically provide differing levels ofinformation according to a predetermined social hierarchy, thecommunication system comprising: a memory which stores social templates,each social template corresponding to a unique social signaturecomprising a first sensor value range and a second sensor value rangeother than the first sensor value range and each social template beingselectable to provide, for each level of the predetermined socialhierarchy, a corresponding differing amount of information to eachmember of the predetermined social hierarchy; a communication devicecomprising: a sensor set which detects sensor data comprising a firstdetected sensor value comprising an amount of light of an environment ofthe communication device from an optical sensor and a second detectedsensor value comprising a sound level of the environment of thecommunication device from an acoustic sensor related to the environmentof the communication device; a processor which provides to at least onemember of the predetermined social hierarchy only as much information asallowed based on a retrieved social template; a transceiver whichprovides communication with respect to external devices, sends thedetected sensor data, and sends the information based on the retrievedsocial template under the control of the processor; and a housing whichhouses the sensor set, the processor, and the transceiver; and a serverhaving another processor which creates a detected social signature fromthe sensor data sent through the transceiver, determines which of thesocial signatures of the stored social templates has a greatestcorrespondence with the created social signature through comparison ofthe first and second detected sensor values and the first and secondsensor value ranges of each stored social template, retrieves from thememory the determined one social template having the greatestcorrespondence and having the detected amount of light within the firstsensor value range and the detected sound level within the second sensorvalue range, and provides the retrieved social template to thecommunication device.
 9. The communication system of claim 8, wherein:the sensor set further comprises: a location sensor which senses alocation of the communication device; and an acceleration sensor whichsenses acceleration of the communication device, and the anotherprocessor compares the location with map data to determine a maplocation of the communication device, and creates the detected socialsignature to include information on the map location of thecommunication device, the acceleration being experienced by thecommunication device, and the environment of the communication device.10. The communication system of claim 9, wherein the device comprises amobile device.
 11. The communication system of claim 8, wherein: thelevels of the social hierarchy of the retrieved social template include:a first social hierarchy level which provides one level of informationas selected in the retrieved social template, a second social hierarchylevel which provides another level of information as selected in theretrieved social template, and a third social hierarchy level whichprovides a further level of information as selected in the retrievedsocial template; and the processor detects to which of the first socialhierarchy level, the second social hierarchy level, and the third socialhierarchy level each member belongs, and provides only as muchinformation as allowed by the detected social hierarchy level.
 12. Thecommunication system of claim 8, wherein the processor automaticallydetermines if an incoming communication from a communication requestorbeing received through the transceiver is interruptive by, prior tocompleting the communication, assigning the communication requestor toone of the levels of the social hierarchy, and providing to thecommunication requestor only as much information as allowed based on theretrieved social template.
 13. The communication system of claim 8,wherein the sensor set further comprises an input device which the useruses to input data, and the another processor detects a status of thecommunication device according to use or non-use of the input device andincludes the detected status in the created social signature.
 14. Thecommunication system of claim 13, wherein the input device comprises atouch screen display including a capacitive sensor, and the anotherprocessor detects the status of the communication device according tochanges in a capacitance detected by the capacitive sensor.
 15. Thecommunication system of claim 13, wherein the sensor set furthercomprises an Ultra Wideband sensor which provides ranging data regardingthe environment, and the processor includes in the social signature asize of the location in which the communication device is found.
 16. Thecommunication system of claim 8, wherein the sensor data furthercomprises usage data relating to a use of the communication device. 17.A method of automatically providing differing levels of informationaccording to a predetermined social hierarchy, the method comprising:constructing a social signature using sensor data sensed by a sensor setin a communication device, the sensor data comprising a first detectedsensor value comprising optical information from an optical sensor ofthe communication device which detects an amount of light of anenvironment of the communication device and a second detected sensorvalue comprising acoustic information from an acoustic sensor of thecommunication device which detects a sound level of the environment ofthe communication device; determining which one of a plurality of socialtemplates has a social signature with a greatest correspondence with theconstructed social signature through comparison of the first and seconddetected sensor values and first and second sensor value ranges of eachsocial template, each social template corresponding to a unique socialsignature comprising corresponding first and second sensor value rangesand each social template being selectable to provide, for each level ofthe predetermined social hierarchy, a corresponding differing amount ofinformation to each member of the predetermined social hierarchy;retrieving from a memory the determined one social template having thegreatest correspondence and having the detected amount of light withinthe first sensor value range, and the detected sound level within thesecond sensor value range; and providing to at least one member of thepredetermined social hierarchy only as much information as allowed basedon the retrieved social template.
 18. The method of claim 17, wherein:the sensor data comprises a location of the communication device, andmovement of the communication device, and the constructing the socialsignature comprises comparing the location with map data to determine amap location of the communication device, and creating the socialsignature to include information on the map location of thecommunication device, the movement being experienced by thecommunication device, and the environment of the communication device.19. The method of claim 17, further comprising: detecting an incomingcommunication from a communication requestor; and prior to completingthe communication, assigning the communication requestor to one of thelevels of the social hierarchy, and providing to the communicationrequestor only as much information as allowed based on the retrievedsocial template.
 20. The method of claim 17, wherein the sensor datacomprises usage data relating to a use of the communication device. 21.A non-transitory computer readable medium encoded with processinginstructions to implement the method of claim 17 executed by one or moreprocessors.
 22. The method of claim 17, further comprising detecting thesensor data using the sensor set, and sending the detected sensor datathrough a transceiver of the communication device to a server, whereinthe server constructs the social signature using the sensor datareceived through the transceiver and transmits the retrieved socialtemplate to the communication device through the transceiver.
 23. Themethod of claim 22, wherein the communication device provides to the atleast one member of the predetermined social hierarchy only as muchinformation as allowed based on the retrieved social templatetransmitted from the server.
 24. The method of claim 17, furthercomprising detecting the sensor data using the sensor set, and sendingthe detected sensor data through a transceiver of the communicationdevice to a server, wherein the server constructs the social signatureusing the sensor data received through the transceiver.
 25. The methodof claim 24, wherein the server provides to the at least one member ofthe predetermined social hierarchy only as much information as allowedbased on the retrieved social template.
 26. The method of claim 25,wherein the server, prior to connecting the at least one member to thecommunication device, provides to the at least one member of thepredetermined social hierarchy only as much information as allowed basedon the retrieved social template.
 27. The method of claim 26, furthercomprising, after the retrieved social template is sent to the at leastone member prior to connecting the at least one member, receiving arequest from the at least one member to establish communication betweenthe at least one member and the communication device, and establishingthe communication between the at least one member and the communicationdevice according to the received request.